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When the started requiring professors to give their students a course syllabus statement acknowledging the campus “sits on occupied land鈥� of Coastal Salish native people, computer science teaching professor Stuart Reges pushed back with a statement version of his own.

Now, Reges told The Dori Monson Show he鈥檚 filed suit in federal court to back it up.

鈥淚 have always been opposed to limits on free speech,鈥� Reges said.

The issue started in September 2020 when the UW鈥檚 diversity committee began requiring an 鈥淚ndigenous Land Acknowledgement Statement鈥� to be included in course materials, the professor told Dori鈥檚 Thursday listeners.

Reges disagrees with both what鈥檚 in the statement 鈥� and with the university鈥檚 role in mandating the speech at all.

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The UW鈥檚 template reads: 鈥淥ur campus sits on occupied land. We recognize that this is a difficult, painful and long history . . . and we thank the original caretakers of this land.鈥�

鈥淚 decided to test the waters with this,鈥� Reges told Dori. 鈥淭hey want you to pair this with a sense of guilt, a particular view of American history. I thought it would be interesting to do a land acknowledgment that doesn鈥檛 have the guilt.鈥�

Instead, the computer science professor posted this in his course syllabus: 鈥淚 acknowledge that, by the labor theory of property, the Coast Salish people can claim historical ownership of almost none of the land currently occupied by the University of Washington.鈥�

His argument: the labor theory of property, written in 1689 by the so-called 鈥淔ather of Liberalism鈥� John Locke. In his Second Treatise of Government, Locke claims 鈥渙wnership derives from bettering the land.鈥�

鈥淭hat just freaked them out that I didn鈥檛 spout the company line about guilt and stealing land,鈥� Reges said of UW computer science and engineering administrators.

鈥淟and acknowledgments – almost nobody likes these things,鈥� he continued. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e really hollow when they aren鈥檛 paired with some concrete action you might take.鈥�

A self-proclaimed Libertarian, Reges described the so-called 鈥渙ccupied land鈥� issue as complex. “There was a treaty where the U.S. purchased the land from the tribe. There鈥檚 a lot involved here. It can鈥檛 be summarized in two sentences,鈥� he said.

More troubling, Dori pointed out, is that the university was requiring professors to follow 鈥渢oe-the-line鈥� statements.

鈥淭he University of Washington is a public institution 鈥� which means the government was mandating what you say,鈥� Dori said. 鈥淚f you didn鈥檛 believe (the statement), they wanted you to lie.鈥�

鈥淥r to stay silent,鈥� Reges responded. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what makes this a First Amendment issue.鈥�

The UW, Reges continued, 鈥渃ould allow all land acknowledgment (statements) or ban them all鈥� 鈥� but they can鈥檛 pick and choose based on content. He calls it the result of a 鈥渨eird Orwellian twist鈥� where 鈥渋nclusion to them is exclusion of people like me.鈥�

鈥淵ou鈥檙e quite the rebel,鈥� Dori told Reges after learning about similar challenges the professor raised while teaching at Stanford University. 鈥淒o you seek out these fights?鈥�

鈥淭he theme throughout is free speech,鈥� Reges said. 鈥淚 have always been opposed to limits on free speech. I was openly gay at a time when it was not okay to be openly gay – but I wasn鈥檛 going to let them shut me up. I talked about the drug war when it wasn鈥檛 popular to talk about the drug war. And they fired me from Stanford for it. I鈥檝e always spoken my mind. It has gotten me into trouble over the years.鈥�

His current pushback has led him to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court鈥檚 Western Washington Division in Seattle.

What are you seeking in your suit? Dori asked.

鈥淭hat they admit that I did nothing wrong,鈥� Reges said. 鈥淔aculty should be allowed to express these kinds of opinions. They鈥檝e said that — in the name of inclusion — that [the university] has to silence faculty members who say offensive things. That is a dangerous idea that really needs to be nipped in the bud.鈥�

Listen to Dori Monson weekday afternoons from noon 鈥� 3 p.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the聽podcast here.